Self-contained, articulated, outside corner-forming device for a concrete wall form

ABSTRACT

A self-contained, articulated, outside right angle cornerforming device by means of which the adjacent end regions of two, waler-like panel-reinforcing boards are held in their right angular relationship and are forced hard against the concrete wall form panels which they reinforce.

United States Patent 11 1 Black 1 1 Oct. 2, 1973 122 Filed:

1 1 SELF-CONTAINED,ARTICULATED,

OUTSIDE CORNER-FORMING DEVICE FOR A CONCRETE WALL FORM {751 Inventor: James A. Black, Deer-field, ill.

[73] Assignee: Superior Concrete Accessories, Inc., Franklin Park. 111.

May 17, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 254,194

152] US. Cl 249/194, 269/41, 269/111 [51] Int. Cl. E04g "/08 [58] Field of Search 249/17, 23, 25, 48,

249/194,192,195,196, 219 R, 219 W, 45, 46,169, 205; 269/112, 115, 116, 126, 41, 117,123,201, 228,217; 248/222; 24/685 K, 263 B, 263 LL, 273

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Linville 269/228 X 3,442,482 5/1969, Preblich 249/194 X 2,864,638 12/1958 Nelson......,.. 24/273 X 2,915,276 12/1959 Lindmark 24/263 B X 3,336,643 8/1967 Robison 24/68 CD X 3,404,862 10/1968 Chandler 249/219 R 3,491,981 [/1970 Harbert A 249/219 3,677,512 7/1972 Thomas 249/48 Primary Examiner-J. Spencer Overholser Assistant lixaminer-John S. Brown Attorney-Norman H. Gerlach 57 ABSTRACT A self-contained, articulated, outside right angle corner-forming device by means of which the adjacent end regions of two, waler-like panel-reinforcing boards are held in their right angular relationship and are forced hard against the concrete wall form panels which they reinforce.

4 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures SELF-CONTAINED, ARTICULATED, OUTSIDE CORNER-FORMING DEVICE FOR A CONCRETE WALL FORM The present invention relates to concrete wall form hardware and has particular reference to a novel selfcontained, articulated, outside corner-forming device which is adapted to be applied to the adjacent end regions of a pair of panel reinforcing boards which are commonly referred to as walersand extend at right angles to each other, the application of the device being for the purpose of holding the adjacent end regions of the walers in position as well as for drawing the walers hard against the concrete wall form panels which they serve to reinforce.

Heretofore, considerable difficulty has been encountered in positioning and connecting together the two panels which serve to form the outside cover of a right angle bend in a concrete wall form, and particularly in arranging and locating the walers which extend horizontally along the outer sides of such panels in reinforcing relationship. The simplest procedure currently in use for this purpose is to cause the walers to overlap each other at their contiguous or adjacent ends and then to nail these overlapping waler ends together by driving one or more nails vertically and downwardly through the upper overlap waler end and into the lower underlap waler end. At the same time, in order to prevent shearing of the nails under the tremendous outward pressure of the wet concrete which subsequently is poured into the concrete wall form, wooden checks are nailed to the upper and lower overhanging ends of the intersecting and overlapping walers, each chock abutting in edge-to-edge relationship against the adjacent waler. This method of positioning the adjacent ends of two walers at an outside corner region of a concrete wall form possesses certain limitations, principal among which are the involvement of considerable carpentry work, the fact that it does not provide for the application of inward force of the walers against the panels which they reinforce, and the further fact that the horizontally disposed, intersecting walers are disposed in different horizontal planes, it being more satisfactory in practically all instances if the walers are maintained at the same horizontal level, that is, in the same horizontal plane.

In order to maintain coplanar relationship between the two right angle walers at the outside corner portion of a concrete wall form, various bracket-like connecting devices have been devised, but these devices also possess certain limitations, involving, as they usually do; companion supporting arms for the adjacent ends of the walers, reaction lugs on the arms, and wedge members which are interposed between the edges of the walers and then driven home to force the walers hard against their associated concrete wall form panels. Such devices involve intricate castings and separate parts which frequently become lost or misplaced and, furthermore, they are difficult to install since they require a wide range of body movements on the part of an operator who must position himself first to drive one wedge to its home position, and then position himself for the driving of the other wedge to its home position.

The present invention is designed to overcome the abovenoted limitations that are attendant upon the construction and use of conventional waler connecting devices such as have briefly been set forth above and, toward this end, the invention contemplates the provision of a novel unitary articulated device which, after the right angle walers have been placed in position on the wall form, may readily be applied to the walers and then, by manipulating a lever arm, the walers are drawn hard with equalized pressure against the respective panels which they serve to reinforce, such operation serving also to anchor the adjacent ends of the walers in position at the same horizontal level.

In carrying out the invention, there are provided two waler-straddling cradles, one for each waler. One of these cradles is pivotally connected to a pair of tension links and the other cradle is pivotally connected to a short toggle link, the latter, in turn, being pivotally connected to the pair of tension links. The toggle link is an over-center link which functions under compression and is provided with a relatively long manipulating 1ever. After two right angle walers are positioned on the associated wall form in order to establish the usual outside corner reinforcement for a pair of right angle panels, the two cradles are applied to respective walers and, thereafter, the manipulating lever is swung in such a manner as to force the over-center toggle link against the adjacent waler under compression and past a deadcenter position, the net result being to place the tension links under tension and cause the cradles to exert a diagonal centripetal force against the two walers whereby each waler is given a component of motion which draws it toward the other waler, and also a component of motion which draws it inwardly of the form and hard against the respective panels which they reinforce. According to the invention, the device is leftin position on the form in connection with a concrete pouring operation during which time the outward thrust of the poured concrete is assimilated by the tension links of the device. After the concrete has become set and the form is to be dismantled, the manipulating lever is swung in a reverse direction to relieve the tension in the tension links and thus release the cradles from their respective walers.

The provision of a corner-forming device such as has briefly been outlined above constitutes the principal object of the present invention. Other objects and ad vantages, not at this time enumerated, will become readily apparent as the nature of the invention is better understood from a consideration of the following detailed description.

The invention consists in the several novel features which are hereinafter set forth and are more particularly defined by the claims at the conclusion hereof.

In the accompanying two sheets of drawings forming a part of this specification, one illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown.

In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the self-contained, articulated, outside corner-forming device of the present invention operatively installed in a concrete wall form and in its locked or operative conditron;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the structure which is shown in FIG. 1, such plan view illustrating the comerforming devices in its applied but unlocked condition;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the outside corner region of the structure of FIG. 2 and illustrating schematically the manner in which the device is manipulated during installation thereof;

FIG. 4 is an inside side elevational view of the corner forming device, showing the same in its free state and with the parts thereof in the locked condition of the device;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the structure of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an outside side elevationa view of the structure of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 7 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 7-7 of FIG. 6, such view being similar to FIG. 5 but showing the parts in the unlocked condition of the device.

Referring now to the drawings in detail and in particular to FIGS. 1 to 3, inclusive, the corner-forming device of the present invention is designated in its entirety by the reference numeral 10 and is shown as being operatively installed in a concrete wall form 12, only a fragmentary portion of which is illustrated. The disclosed portion of the form represents an area where the sides of the form make a right angle bend. As shown in FIG. 2, the concrete wall form 12 includes a pair of outside panels 14 and 16 which extend at a right angle to each other, and a pair of inside panels 18 and 20 which likewise extend at a right angle from each other. The two pairs of panels are spaced from each other in order to define therebetween a space into which concrete 22 is poured for the purpose of producing a concrete wall having a right angle bend. It will be understood that, depending upon the lengths of the right angle sections 24 and 26 of the concrete wall, the panels 14 and 16 and the panels 18 and 20 will exist in edge-to-edge relationship with similar panels (not shown). As is customary in connection with erection of a concrete wall form, all of the panels which are used in forming the wall section 24 are reinforced and maintained in their coplanar relationship by means of at least one horizontal reinforcing board or waler, such as the illustrated waler 28, the latter being positioned along the outer sides or surfaces of such panels, while all of the panels which are used in forming the wall section 26 are similarly reinforced by at least one horizontal surfacing board or waler such as the waler 30. These walers are usually in the form of cut lengths of lumber of the 2 inch X 4 inch variety. In this regard, and as will be made clear presently, the corner-forming device it is specifically constructed to accommodate such 2 inch X 4 inch walers. In the illustrated exemplary wall form 12, the walers 28 and 30 lie in the same horizontal plane and are so positioned that the inner side edge of the waler 28 overlaps the adjacent end edge the waler 30 with no excess overhang although such relationship is not essential to proper use of the device 10. If desired, a reverse overlap may exist and, consequently, either waler may completely overhang the adjacent end edge of the other waler. Irrespective, however, of the specific arrangement of the adjacent end regions of the two walers 28 and 30, the essential features of the device, both as to its structure and operation remain precisely the same.

Still referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, inclusive, the purpose of the device 10 is to locate precisely the adjacent end regions of the two walers 28 and 30 in their fixed coplanar relationship and also to cause these end regions to be forced hard against the associated panels which they respectively reinforce. Accordingly and briefly, the device involves in its general organization a pair of walerembracing cradles 40 and 42 (see also FIGS. 4 to 7, inclusive) which are formed of heavy gauge sheet metal. The cradle 40 is adapted to be affixed to the waler 28 while the cradle 42 is adapted to be affixed to the waler 30. The two cradles 40 and 42 are connected together by a composite tension link structure embodying a pair of parallel, spaced apart tension links 44, the cradle 40 being pivoted directly to certain adjacent ends of these links and the cradle 42 being floatingly connected to the other adjacent ends of the links by means of an extremely short compression toggle link 46, the details of which are best illustrated in wall 6 and 7. said toggle link 46 is equipped with an elongated manipulating handle 48, the latter being integrally formed with the toggle link. As will be made clear presently, the compression toggle link 46 is an over-center link which exists in compression when passing through its deadcenter position, thus distinguishing it from tension-type toggle links which exist in tension as they pass through a dead-center position.

After the two walers 28 and 30 have been applied to the wall form 10 in their approximate coplanar relationship as shown in FIG. 1, the links 44 of the device 110 are caused to straddle the cornerjuncture region of the walers so that the cradle 40 seats or bears against the outside edge of the waler 28, while the cradle 42 similarly seats or bears against the outside edge of the waler 30. The two cradles are then preferably, but not necessarily, temporarily secured in position by nails 49, after which the manipulating lever 48 is swung from the full-line position in which it is shown in FIG. 2 to the dotted-line position, whereupon the short compression toggle link 46 is forced inwardly against the waler 30 and swung past a dead-center position, thus drawing the two cradles 40 and 42 toward each other and placing the pair of links 44 under tension, while at the same time the two walers 28 and 30 are caused to move inwardly of the wall form and be forced hard against their respective panels 14 and 16 to the end that the parts assume the positions in which they are shown in FIG. 1.

Considering now the specific details of the component parts of the articulated, corner-forming device 10, and referring particularly to FIGS. 4 to 7, inclusive, the two cradles 40 and 42 are identical in construction and, therefore, a description of one of them will suffice for both. Each cradle is in the form of a sheet metal stamping, preferably of steel, and is of U-shape in cross section, the stamping including a rectangular, substantially flat, interrupted base plate 50 and a pair of upstanding generally triangular cradle side flanges 52. The medial region of the base plate is cut-away and otherwise interrupted by the provision of a pair of outstruck pivot ears 54 (see FIG. 7), such ears being coplanar and formed integrally with the flanges 52. The pivot ears 5 4 have formed therein centrally disposed pin-receiving holes 56. Small pointed prongs or tongues 58 in series form are struck out of the general plane of the base plate 50 and serve a function that will be made clear presently. Nail-receiving holes 59 are formed in the base plate 50 near the end edges thereof.

The cradle 40 is directly pivoted to the paralleltension links 44 at one pair of adjacent ends of the latter by means of a transverse pivot pin 60 which projects loosely through the holes 56 in the ears 54 of the cradle 40 and the opposite ends of which project through holes 62 in said one pair of adjacent ends of the links and are welded thereto as indicated at 64.

The cradle 42 is floatingly connected to the tension links 44 at the other pair of adjacent ends of the latter for independent pivotal movement by means of a pair of trunnions 66. The latter project laterally from opposite sides of the compression toggle link 46 and extend loosely through the holes 56 in the side flanges 52 of the cradle 42.

The compression link 46 itself is in the form of a comparatively thick flat plate of extremely short longitudinal extent, the aforementioned trunnions as being provided near and extending outwards from the distal end of the link 46. A second pair of trunnions 70 is formed on the tension link 46 near the proximate end of the latter and such trunnions similarly welded as indicated at 72 in holes 74 which are provided in the adjacent ends of the tension links 44. The handle 48 projects longitudinally and centrally outwardly from the proximate end of the compression toggle link 46 and is preferably formed as an integral part of said toggle link.

More specifically to describe the application of the articulated, corner-forming device it) to the wall form 12 and its function during application, when the cradles 40 and 42 are initially and respectively applied to the walers 24 and 30 as previously indicated, the tension links 44 are caused to straddle the composite corner which is established by the intersecting ends of these walers so that the links extend at an angle of approximately 45 to the longitudinal directions of the walers, the links thus, in effect, constituting the hypotenuse of a right angle triangle with respect to such corner. It is not essential that a precise 45 angle be maintained but the deviation therefrom should preferably not exceed In other words, it is not necessary to resort to measuring operations in order to place the cradles 4t) and 42 of the device MB in position on the walers and their placement may be made simply by the eye of the person making the application. The cradles are applied to the walers with the side flanges 52 straddling the outer side edges of the walers and with the interrupted base plates 50 directly opposing the outer surfaces or faces of the 2 inch X 4 inch walers. At the time of initial application of the cradles 44 and 42 to the walers 2% and 30, the pointed tongues 54 will come to rest on these outer faces of the walers 28 and 30. At this time, the nails 49 may be driven into the walers through the nail holes 59 in the end regions of the base plates St) as clearly shown in FIG. ll. It will be understood, of course, that during this initial application of the cradles 40 and 42 to the walers 28 and 30, the manipulating handle 44 will be caused to assume the position in which it is shown in full lines in FIGS. 2, 3 and 9 and wherein the two cradles are so disposed that their base plates 50 extend at right angles to one another. This position of the cradles is not necessarily their position of maximumseparation which would be the case if the manipulating handle 48 were to be positioned further to the left as viewed in FIGS. 2 and '7, or in other words, at a small angle with respect to the longitudinal direction of the waler 30. It is to be noted that as shown in FIG. 3, there is an appreciable gap between the end of the waler 3d and the adjacent side of the waler 24, this gap being essential to proper application of the device 10 to the walers and proper subsequent functioning of the device. As will be apparent during further discussion of the operation of the device, if this gap is too small, of if the initial angle of the manipulating over 48 with-respect to the direction of the waler 30 is too small, movement of the lever to its final locked position as shown in dotted lines in FIGS. 2 and 3, will cause the gap to be completely closed and binding of the lever before it reaches its locked position will occur. Experience will dictate to the operator the proper angle which should be maintained by the manipulating lever 48 at the time of initial application of the device It) to a pair of coplanar walers. This angle will depend on the width of the gap which exists between the intersecting ends of the walers. Generally speaking, the wider the gap, the smaller will be the angle between the manipulating lever 48 and the waler 30, and vice versa. Not only it is essential that a gap be maintained between the walers, but this gap must necessarily be sufficiently wide that the compression link 46 may be moved through a dead-center position with respect to the waler 30 during movement of the lever between its unlocked and its locked position.

By way of further explanation, it will be observed that with the various componentsof the articulated device it) installed on the walers 28 and 30 as shown in FIG. 2, movement of the manipulating lever 48 toward its dotted-line position will draw the cradle 42 bodily in the longitudinal direction of the waler 30 and toward the waler 28, while at the same time inward pressure is applied to such waler to force it against the adjacent panel 16. As the lever 48 is thus moved, the tension links 44 progressively gather tension so that the cradle 44 similarly draws the waler 28 against the panel 14. After the short compression link moves over its deadcenter position which takes place at the precise mo ment that the lever 48 becomes perpendicular to the base plate 50 of the cradle 42, the outward pressure that is exerted by the waler 30 against such compression link 46 forces the lever 48 to the locked position in which it is shown in full lines in FIGS. 1 and 5 and in dotted lines in FIGS. 2 and 3. During such movement of the lever 48, the pointed prongs or tongues 58 are forced into the wood of the adjacent walers and assimilate some of the shearing stress which otherwie would be applied to the nails 49. In the above-described locked position of the manipulating handle 48, the two walers are maintained in firm contact with the respective panels which they serve to reinforce.

During form-dismantling operations, the nails 49 are first withdrawn from the walers and then the manipulating handle 44 is swung in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIGS. l and 5, thus relieving the tension in the links 44 and releasing the articulated device 10 for subsequent reuse. I

The invention is not to be limited to the exact arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawings or described in this specification as various changes in the details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Therefore, only insofar as the invention is particularly pointed out in the accompanying claims is the same to be limited.

Having thus described the invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by letters patent is:

1. In a concrete wall form, the combination with a pair of upstanding form panels which extend at a right angle to each other with adjacent side edges in contiguity, and a pair of coplanar horizontal walers which likewise extend at a right angle to each other and bear against the outer sides of said panels in reinforcing relationship with adjacent end regions thereof disposed in close proximity to each other, of an outside, right angle, corner-forming device for applying equalized in ward centripetal pressure to said adjacent end regions of the walers, said device comprising a pair of parallel spaced apart tension links which straddle said end regions of the walers, a first waler-engaging cradle comprising a base plate which engages the outside edge face of one of the walers, and side flanges which straddle the upper and lower surfaces of such waler, said one cradle being pivotally connected to one pair of adjacent ends of said tension links by way of a transverse pivot pin which passes through said first cradle and the links, a relatively short toggle link having its proximate end pivotally connected to the other adjacent ends of the tension links, a second waler-engaging cradle comprising a base plate which bears against the outer edge face of the other waler, and side flanges which straddle the upper and lower surfaces of said other waler, said second cradle being pivotally connected to the distal end of the toggle link by a pair of trunnions, and a manipulating lever on said toggle link for swinging the latter through a dead center position from an unlocked position wherein said adjacent end regions of the walers are maintained a predetermined maximum distance from each other to a locked position wherein said adjacent end regions are drawn to a predetermined minimum distance from each other under the influence of the progressive tension which is developed in said tension links.

2. In a concrete wall form, the combination set forth in claim 1 and wherein said trunnions are formed on the distal end of the compression link and project into bearing holes which are formed on a pair of cars on the second waler-engaging cradle.

3. In a concrete wall form, the combination set forth in claim 2 and wherein said compression toggle link is pivoted to the tension links by a second pair of trunmons.

4. In a concrete wall form, the combination set forth in claim 3 and wherein said second pair of trunnions is carried by the compression toggle link at the proximate end of the latter. 

1. In a concrete wall form, the combination with a pair of upstanding form panels which extend at a right angle to each other with adjacent side edges in contiguity, and a pair of coplanar horizontal walers which likewise extend at a right angle to each other and bear against the outer sides of said panels in reinforcing relationship with adjacent end regions thereof disposed in close proximity to each other, of an outside, right angle, corner-forming device for applying equalized inward centripetal pressure to said adjacent end regions of the walers, said device comprising a pair of parallel spaced apart tension links which straddle said end regions of the walers, a first waler-engaging cradle comprising a base plate which engages the outside edge face of one of the walers, and side flanges which straddle the upper and lower surfaces of such waler, said one cradle being pivotally connected to one pair of adjacent ends of said tension links by way of a transverse pivot pin which passes through said first cradle and the links, a relatively short toggle link having its proximate end pivotally connected to the other adjacent ends of the tension links, a second waler-engaging cradle comprising a base plate which bears against the outer edge face of the other waler, and side flanges which straddle the upper and lower surfaces of said other waler, said second cradle being pivotally connected to the distal end of the toggle link by a pair of trunnions, and a manipulating lever on said toggle link for swinging the latter through a dead center position from an unlocked position wherein said adjacent end regions of the walers are maintained a predetermined maximum distance from each other to a locked position wherein said adjacent end regions are drawn to a predetermined minimum distance from each other under the influence of the progressive tension which is developed in said tension links.
 2. In a concrete wall form, the combination set forth in claim 1 and wherein said trunnions are formed on the distal end of the compression link and project into bearing holes which are formed on a pair of ears on the second waler-engaging cradle.
 3. In a concrete wall form, the combination set forth in claim 2 and wherein said compression toggle link iS pivoted to the tension links by a second pair of trunnions.
 4. In a concrete wall form, the combination set forth in claim 3 and wherein said second pair of trunnions is carried by the compression toggle link at the proximate end of the latter. 